My church shut down recently. That's right, we had to close the doors because our numbers dwindled down to nearly nothing. In fact, during the last few years of my church's existence, the greatest attendance we ever had was no more than six families. Thankfully, most of these families were large, so the numbers didn't feel that small.
We couldn't figure out why our church wouldn't grow. We were foolish enough to think that if we faithfully preached the word and worshipped biblically that God would not let us fail; He would grow our church. That didn't happen.
Now, I know why. Like most Presbyterians, our favorite things to do were to lounge around after our Lord's Day lunch (we had lunch together at the church every Sunday) and try to solve the problems of the world. This would lead to in depth discussions ranging from public education to libertarianism; and others ranging from baptism to eschatology. We had it all figured out. The problem was nobody in our city cared.
It's been six months and I now know why nobody cared. While we were so busy trying to bring in the Kingdom of God, we forgot to love and be hospitable to our visitors. I'm sure the conversations we were having seemed like a version of lunacy to the visiting Methodist or Baptist family. It would have been appropriate to swallow our intellectual pride and talk about the things in which they were interested.
Over the past several months, because I have visited so many churches, God has opened my eyes to the importance of hospitality. I have felt the sting of inhospitality and I have felt the warmth of loving, hospital people. I encourage you to practice hospitality; and not just to your friends. Invite that new guy, the one who is sheepishly standing in the corner of the sanctuary, into your home for lunch. That is how we show God's love to God's people.
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